Comparisons on enhancing the immunity of fresh and dry Cordyceps militaris in vivo and in vitro

Authors Zhu, Shuang-jie; Pan, Jian; Zhao, Bin; Liang, Juan; Wu, Ze-yu; Yang, Jun-jie

Journal JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY , OCT 7 2013,3:149

DOI 10.1016/j.jep.2013.07.037 PubMed 23916792

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: The immunomodulatory capacities of fresh Cordyceps militaris (FCM) and dry Cordyceps militaris (DCM) were compared.Materials and methods: In vivo immunomodulatory assay, different doses of FCM and DCM were orally administrated over a period of 15 days in a cyclophosphamide (CY) induced immunosuppression mice; in vitro testing, the spleen cells were extracted from healthy mice and treaded with CV, then cultured with different dose of FCM or DCM; the contents of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharide (CMP), cordycepin, adenosine, total polyphenol (TP) and total flavonoids (TF) in FCM and DCM were measured.Results: Our studys indicated that, FCM was significantly stronger than DCM on increasing the spleen and thymus indexes, spleen lymphocyte activity, macrophage function, and promoting the levels of IL-2, IFN-gamma in vivo and in vitro. The contents of immunomodulatory CMP and TF in FCM were markedly higher than in DCM.Conclusion: All these results suggested that FCM was superior to DCM on enhancing immunity. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.